Australian companies form global online hotel and car rental alliance

Sydney, 26 November 2002 – In an initiative designed to deliver a fully integrated and competitive online “beds and wheels” service, two of Australia’s leading Internet travel and accommodation companies have joined forces.

Australia’s largest accommodation e-wholesaler, Flairview Travel and online car rental company Webcar Hire Pty Ltd (www.WebCarHire.com) have formed a strategic distribution alliance where Webcar Hire will become the exclusive car rental provider for Flairview Travel’s powerhouse /accommodation site www.HotelClub.net.

HotelClub.net’s deep inventory of over 4,500 hotels across 35 countries worldwide, combined with Webcar Hire’s affiliation with nine of the key global vehicle rental brands, is set to lift the bar on the full service offering from Australian owned and operated travel sites. HotelClub.net receives over 25,000 unique visitors a day, with over 60 per cent of its traffic coming from offshore users.

“We’ve sought out other good Australian owned and operated online travel companies to compliment our world-class hotel offering. We want to make a one stop shop for online travel consumers that offers the best of the best,” said Flairview Travel’s director of marketing, Mr Tim Etheridge.

“The web allows us to bundle great content from other suppliers without confusing the customer.

“Travellers using the site will greatly benefit because they are now able to do all their on-ground activities on the one site – hotels, car hire and soon travel insurance, all at deeply discounted rates, for destinations worldwide,” he said.

By clicking the “rent a car” icon on the HotelClub.net site, consumers can choose from a full spectrum of vehicles including eight seater vans to C class Mercedes (selected locations) from 1,800 locations in 26 countries worldwide. The system shows on screen price comparisons between major car hire companies and confirms reservations immediately.

“HotelClub.net and Webcar Hire have both shopped the world for the best deals on car hire and accommodation, so consumers can compare the discount rates on screen then click to book an entire trip quickly and easily,” said Webcar Hire’s director, Mr Greg Wren.

“We are delighted to be selected to participate in this distribution alliance, as HotelClub.net is now a major travel site in world terms, with a massive amount of traffic from UK, US and Asian users. Our global content is a great compliment to what users are already being offered. This is a win for the supplier principals, ourselves and most importantly, the consumers.”

A “one stop” global car rental service, Webcar Hire has content from the major car hire principals in Europe, Asia, the US and the UK as well as Australia.

The HotelClub.net site is available in English, French, German and Chinese languages.
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About Flairview Travel
Flairview Travel Pty Ltd is a wholly owned Australian company established in 1995 and has become a world leading global accommodation e-wholesaler The company is recognised as one of the few highly successful and profitable e-commerce businesses in Australia – experiencing up to 500 per cent year on year growth since 1999.

Operating from headquarters in Sydney, the company has international offices in Paris, Bristol, Moscow and Berne (Switzerland) and operates two key online accommodation sites: www.RatesToGo.com (consumer and B2B) and www.HotelClub.net

For further information please contact:
Lisa McCoy / Nicole Reading
Icon Communications
Tel: 02 9231 1103, 0414 842 387
Email: [email protected], [email protected]